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Oral-B bricking Alexa toothbrush is cautionary tale against buzzy tech
(arstechnica.com)
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this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2024
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Oral-B released the Guide for $230 in August 2020 but bricked the ability to set up or reconfigure Alexa on the product this February.Owners could “ask to play music, hear the news, check weather, control smart home devices, and even order more brush heads by saying, ‘Alexa, order Oral-B brush head replacements,'” per Procter & Gamble's 2020 announcement.
Oral-B also bragged at the time that, in partnering with Alexa, the Guide ushered in “the truly connected bathroom.”
Guide owners can still use the Oral-B App for other features; however, the ability to use the charging base like an Alexa smart speaker—a big draw in the product’s announcement and advertising—is seriously limited.
He told Ars Technica that when he tries using the Alexa wake word now, the speaker says, "I’m having trouble connecting to the Internet.
Hubley attempted but failed to get a refund or replacement brush through Oral-B's support avenues.
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